3139 Uithof Expeditions, 2011

In cooperation with the University of Utrecht and together with designer Henriëtte Waal, Studio Makkink & Bey has put together a series of walks through the Uithof campus area.

The expeditions form a strategic year plan to delineate cultural components that are present in the area. Aiming at experiences, use, and visibility of special features of the Uithof, the walks progressively chart the Uithof campus into a cultural map. The first two walks have been completed and together with a website, inscribed mugs and benches, screensaver announcements on all Uithof computers.

The university campus is undergoing transformations, the was originally planned to serve a working, or studying population, but is now slowly becoming more residential. As more functions are being added to the physical curriculum of the Uithof, the terrain as a whole remains largely undisclosed to visitors and new residents. To change this and to reveal its special characteristics, each of the walks touches on a subject relating to the area. The Uithof Expeditions lead anyone who's interested along it's artworks, secret places, architectural highlights as well as overlooked constructions, its' nature and its' history.

The first two walks investigate the history and culture of De Uithof. By partially restoring a disregarded Dutch water defense system from the 17th century, history was transported to present times. De Hollandse Waterlinie was traced back and made tangible in the Tank-trench Walk, a route that can be explored this spring. The other route explores the artworks that were bought over the years and can be found dispersed over the area. The art collection is chronologically unveiled, following the year of creation.